I just got a copy of this video from my friend, Colin, of Banana Azul Guesthouse. It's not a very professional video, but it does show some shots at the beginning of one of the hostels we use when our own hostel is full. It also shows a short interview with a Bribri shaman and a traditional indigenous home.

If you happened to read our earlier post about Bambina, then you know she was on her little deathbed. We're happy to report she is now out of the woods! Things certainly got worse before they got better, but she is nearly back to 100% herself now.

Of course, we're now dealing with a wounded paw (as you can see in the picture), and an overabundance of fleas and ticks. But the good news is she's going to live.

Next we need to find the money to get her some vaccinations -- the ones she should have received a couple of months ago. The sad thing is that ZERO dogs on the reservation get their "puppy shots," because people can't afford to buy them. Hello. They can't even afford to buy their own food!

On occasion we host animal clinics in the area to try and give shots, spay & neuter, and give general medical attention to cats, dogs, horses, chickens and pigs. If you are interested in helping us with one of these clinics, we'd love the help! Please contact us for more information.

We have a new addition to the family! Mauricio Aguilar just started working with us this week as our new Placement & Travel Coordinator. Mauricio was born and raised in Washington State (USA), but is actually Costa Rican! He's been back here in his homeland now for about 18 months and is studying sustainable tourism in a local university.

Mauricio will be handling all volunteer communication up until arrival, including assisting with any tour bookings. Not only can he (obviously) speak perfect English and Spanish, but is able to understand the needs of our volunteers in a special way, having been a volunteer himself. You'll find him friendly, knowledgeable and easy to get along with. Why don't you give him a call and say hello!

We hope that some of our ramblings, random pictures and stories in this blog help give you an idea of what it's like here in Costa Rica and with our organization.

This blog started out as a my personal attempt to describe what life is like in Costa Rica, so you're likely to find some entries that have nothing to do with volunteering.

Please enjoy the blog and we hope to see you here in Costa Rica soon!

One of the best parts of visiting or living in a "foreign" country is having the opportunity to see and experience the culture. Here in Costa Rica we have our own share of fairs, festivals and processions.

This morning I dragged myself out of bed at 4:00 and went down the street to the small town of Orosi. Because it's Easter today, the whole town gathered to celebrate. I understand this tradition has been going on a very long time.

The first thing that happened is a bunch of fireworks were set off, starting at 4 am. This is to let everyone know to get their behinds out of bed and get into the street. Right at about 4:30 the procession began. It was led by children dressed in Roman soldier outfits, followed by drummers, and then men and women carrying a platform holding a statue of Jesus. Behind all of this were about 300 people.

As we processed through all the streets, more fireworks were set off at different intervals. We went through all the town, ending back in front of the church about 90 minutes after we started. One of the funniest things I saw though was whenever the Jesus statue got to an intersection, the men carrying the platform would spin Jesus around in one or two complete circles. The whole crowd would cheer.

But because this is a rather unstable Jesus statue, he did a lot of wobbling around. It sure looked to me like he was dancing. It was quite the site!

By the way, this picture of these flowers we took on our way home. They were growing wild at the house of a friend, Jimmy. Not only are they gorgeous, but they smell incredible! If you're ever in Costa Rica during Semana Santa (Holy Week), you should really check out some of the many processions and celebrations. They are a site to see!

As part of our daily lives here as a non-profit foundation in the community, we're called upon to assist with many things. I happened to be visiting Uatsi on the Indigenous Reservation a couple of days ago. One of the families we work with there has the cutest little puppy, Bambina, who is only about 2 or 3 months old. She's normally active and happy. But she looked nearly dead. The family said she hadn't moved the whole day. And she was cold to the touch -- something that doesn't happen much here in the Tropics on a hot day.

The indigenous, like most poor people in the world, wouldn't spend the little money they have (if they have any at all) on a pet. This turns out to be the reason why Bambina was sick in the first place. She'd never had any of her shots. Laura and I decided to take her to the vet ourselves. Turns out she has something called gastrointestinitis. The doctor was wonderful (after waiting 2 hours for him) and didn't even charge us for the visit. The antibiotics and other medications cost us $20.

Bambina is temporarily at Laura's house being nursed back to health. She's still not out of the clear, but doing better than she was 2 days ago.

We'd like to give a warm welcome to the latest addition to our Tropical Adventures family -- the CEN Daycare and Nutritional Centers! Volunteers Kelly and Aisha were are first guinea pigs to go in and work with these kids. And it was a total success! Many thanks to all involved, especially Laura Palomo, for developing and putting into place this new project.

We now have eleven CEN centers helping families and kids in the Talamanca region where we primarily work.    We work primarily with the center in Puerto Viejo, but will support the others as much as possible.

At CEN, they care for kids between ages one to five. An instructor and cook work with the kids teaching them how wash their hands, properly brush their teeth, and how to sit at a table to eat. They also organize recreational activities during the afternoon.

The main purpose of this program is to provide the kids, while their mothers are working, with two balanced meals and two healthy snacks daily. Once a Nutritional Center is built, the government provides a limited amount of milk, fruits and meat. The Center is actually run in cooperation with the local government and a board, made up of parents whose children are in the program.

Our volunteers concentrate on helping with breakfast in the morning, then they teach the kids things such as how to wash their hands and brush their teeth. Then they lead the children in games until lunch time. But watch out: these kids can get really messy! After lunch everyone rests for a half-hour. In the afternoon, we create and leading fun activities for the kids before they leave for the day. 

For more information about this project, please see this page on our website.

We're very excited to announce that our new brochures are ready. And they
look fantastic! Many thanks to Donald for a job well done. If you'd like your own copy, or even better, if you'd like several so you can pass them out, please just contact me and let me know!

We also have some new posters designed. But we don't have the funds to be able to print them yet. We'll let you know when they are ready.   

Things sure have been busy around here. Sorry I haven't posted anything for a while. The phones have been ringing off the hook. It looks like this Summer is gearing up to be wild! We've been enrolling people like crazy. If you're thinking about joining us, you might consider filling out the Online Enrollment Form soon to reserve your spot.

There are many people who can't afford the time or money to come and volunteer with us, but they do have time to volunteer from home. The truth is there is a lot that can be done from afar to help us out. And we certainly appreciate all the help we can get!

Below you can find some examples of what we're looking for and how you can help from home:

Our kids need pretty much anything you can get your hands on. Some of them literally have nothing. They need:

• Used or new DVDs with good movies, especially for kids. No war, violence, foul language. Generally rated G or PG, and best if there is a Spanish language soundtrack option of course.
• Used/new books in both English and Spanish, especially children’s books
• Rain Ponchos
• Umbrellas – small, collapsible, of a size that can fit into a school-kid's knapsack
• Knapsacks (different colors please so the kids don't all have the same ones)
• Blankets – singe/double, no electric ones
• Sheets - twin and full
• Coloring books and crayons, markers, watercolors
• Pencils & pens
• Notebooks
• Children's underwear
• Children’s bathing suits
• Children's pants, shirts, socks, shoes, sweaters, light jackets, baseball caps
• Flashlights and batteries – with parts that can be easily purchased (“normal" bulbs, standard "D" cell batteries). Even better are battery-less flashlights you can shake or crank.
• Toys (nothing electric or battery-operated)
• Dolls
• Paper - plain white, lined and construction
• Towels
• Baby formula
• Toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental floss
• Soap / Shampoo
• Multivitamins

Miscellaneous Needs for families and our locations:

• Plastic buckets
• Thick, heavy shower curtains, single color (used to waterproof thatch roofs)
• Spanish to English dictionaries
• Computer / Printer / Scanner
• Printed shirts and caps that can be sold by the indigenous guides
• Candles
• Matches, lighters
• Pots & pans
• Canned foods (especially tuna fish and veggies)
• Refrigerators (2)
• Freezers (2)
• Space in your luggage if you are visiting for donations from other people

Expertise is needed in the following areas:

• Graphic Designers needed for marketing materials
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) expertise needed
• Marketing and Advertising help
• Grant Writers
• Fundraisers
• Sources for free advertising

And, of course, if you are able to put up any posters, hand out brochures or do a presentation on our behalf, please let us know and we will send you whatever we can to help out.

The tough part is the shipping. Truly, it's a nightmare in Costa Rica. Not only is it relatively expensive for you to send things from the US, transit time takes forever and the process we need to go through on this end is horrific. We have to spend about 5 hours for each package running around, paying taxes, getting signatures and inspections and it's just not worth it. We don't have the (wo)man power to handle it.

The best thing is to notify us if you have things to send. We can try and locate a volunteer or tourist coming down who might have room in their luggage. We're also going to try and arrange shipment through a supporter in New Jersey a couple of times a year who can put our boxes on a boat and have them delivered to our door with no taxes to pay. Each box will cost us $100, so donations are certainly accepted for this too!

Bottom line, please contact me and I'll see what I can do to arrange transport of your donations. And remember, cash is the easiest to send!

Many thanks in advance for your generosity!

Looks like we're long overdue for an update on what's been going on around here. There is so much news, I'm not sure where to start!

First of all, I want to welcome Roberto Lamagno from San Diego. Roberto came to us with the intent of participating in our 2-week volunteer program. Much like what happened to me, he fell in love with the country and people and decided to make Costa Rica his home. Roberto is now a Director with Tropical Adventures, sits on the board of directors of our foundation, and is leading a wonderful project on the Talamanca Indigenous Reservation. His experience, vision and loving energy are a welcome addition to the family.

The second thing I wanted to share with you is actually about the project Roberto is managing on the reservation. The reason we sent Roberto (as we have other volunteers) to the community of Uatsi on the reservation, is because there is great need in that area. Many families have no access to water without walking for hours, very few people have electricity, nobody speaks English, and indigenous families struggle constantly just to come up with food to feed their families.

Our goal as a foundation is to do our best to help the community become self-sufficient without imposing ourselves as outsiders, and to preserve their culture. Roberto inspired a plan for the community that was welcome with open arms. Thanks to a generous loan, we are now constructing a cultural center in which to meet and to teach English, as well as business skills. In addition, we're also building some houses which will become a bed & breakfast and restaurant. They will also be creating a commercial fish farm, planting organic gardens and orchards.

Through the English classes and training, community members will learn to manage the B&B, restaurant, fish farm, gardens, and orchards. They are also learning to become (ecologically-conscious) tour guides for their breathtakingly beautiful area. They will slowly pay back this loan through the funds they make with these projects. However, this loan is not enough to cover the costs of the project, and donations are needed.

At the same time, we're working on a project to build some aqueducts in the mountains to provide water for many families who are without. This is very labor-intense work, as these homes are in extremely remote areas. Thankfully the families who will be receiving the water are helping out with the labor. What we really need are some donors for the supplies.

As if that were not enough, I have some more wonderful news to share with you. In just a few short weeks we will receive our first group of orphans for our new orphanage in Paraiso! The plan is to start with 6 teenagers and sets of brothers / sisters, and then to build a new building to accommodate many more. On the same property we are building an organic garden, playground, trails, butterfly farm and bird sanctuary.

All of this is, of course, wonderful news. We're all very excited about these projects, which are supplementing the other projects we already have going on.

Now comes the most important part. We need help! All of these things cost money. Your generous donations will be accepted with open arms! We're also looking for volunteers to help us out with every aspect of these projects. If you feel moved to do so, we would appreciate your assistance.

I'll be posting some financial information shortly, so you can see what it takes to keep these projects going. In the meantime, if you are able to help us, or if you have questions, please contact me for more information by email or by phone: 1-800-832-9419.

Thanks and many blessings!

Presenting "My Costa Rican Experience" by Robert Lamagno

Mission Statement:

I/we want to help preserve the culture and language of the Bribri and Costa Ricans. We want to empower them with the knowledge to protect their land and the rain forests of Costa Rica. These forests benefit the entire world by providing oxygen and water and therefore life to us all. (I encourage you to watch the movie “An inconvenient Truth” and study www.climatecrisis.net to learn more about global warming.)

Costa Rica is a peaceful country without a military. It is our goal to maintain their peaceful existence without violent intrusion and capitalism. We want to do our part in protecting autonomy without opening up to commerce and “Walmarting” the country, Walmarting meaning bringing in conglomerations and putting the local tradesmen and merchants out of business.

We are helping in the development of Education Plans to educate local tribes and communities to be self-sufficient and to create a healthier more comfortable lifestyle without changing their loving, happy culture and family values.

Why Costa Rica?

I have been looking for a place to move to for about three years. I wanted to be surrounded by nature, water and serenity. I wanted a peaceful place filled with loving, appreciative, compassionate people. I did hours of research. I even traveled to some of a few top choices. I found just what I wanted in the amazingly beautiful country-Costa Rica.

Personally, I am helping in the development of many volunteer programs new and existing to do just that. I am helping with marketing and promotion and general business consulting. I am only working with projects, which I have researched and feel comfortable with in that all proceeds and donations go directly to the needs of the project and the community.

Beyond my consulting work I will be working and living with the Watsi tribe. Scott and Laura of “Tropical Adventures” coordinated my trip and tours. Scott and I were introduced via email through our mutual friend Trent from Palm Springs about six months ago. We admired each other’s work, energy and values. Once we met in person we knew we would be life long friends. His partner Isaac is equally as wonderful. I am very blessed to have been introduced to Laura, the volunteer coordinator and project manager as well. She is an amazing woman and has become a very dear friend. She has been an intricate element to the development of these projects. We all share the compassion for others, teaching love by example. We realize the more we give of ourselves the more we are blessed in life. Scott and Laura arranged for me to stay with the Chief of the Uatsi and his wonderful family. Within one week of working and living with them on their beautiful reservation we were all in love. I spent three hours a morning with the children. I had about twenty-five students and about ten to twenty-five adult students in the afternoon. I taught English and arts/crafts and business development.

I have committed to continue working with their education. I will be teaching English and business as well as creating a more sophisticated market/store and tours. Construction has already begun on a four bedroom Indigeonous Ranch-home. This home will have consistent running water and bathrooms of which they currently do NOT have. The home will be built with a large kitchen to not only feed the families but volunteers and visitors to the reservation. Bungalows will later be built as the money is raised. The bungalows will be used for volunteers to stay as well as paying guests who want to enjoy the serenity and beauty of the land and it’s people. We will also be raising money to build a Cultural/Education building. This indigenous building will be used for: town meetings, family events, educating visitors about the tribe’s language and culture as well as educating the locals in English, Business and Ecology. We will be working towards providing secondary school education for grades 7-12. There is currently Not a continuing education program beyond 6th grade near Uatsi. This same building can be rented out to special interest groups and used for retreats and sleeping large groups. Uatsi is an ALL-denominational tribe believing that “there are many pathways to God but the view is always the same at the summit.” All Spiritual/Religious Church groups are welcome to experience Costa Rica and the wonderful people of the Uatsi reservation. We will be surrounding the Center with a botanical garden and education trails complete with tropical flowers, medicinal plants, trees and ORCHIDS!

The home will be built out of all materials possible from the land on which it sits. We are making every effort to use wood from trees that are dying or have fallen. Most the furniture as well as plates, bowls and glasses will be hand made. The bathrooms and kitchen counters will be mosaic tile done by local artisans. The walls will be adorned with their beautiful art work and crafts. Don Timoteo Jackson, the Chief of Watsi, has provided several acres of beautiful land atop a mountain with amazing views. It is surrounded with rivers, waterfalls and streams, trees and flora that go on for miles.

How you can help:

We need your help to help empower these wonderful people. We need funds to build the village of Uatsi. It is surprisingly very inexpensive to construct. We can build and furnish the Cultural/Educational Center for two thousand dollars. I have committed to build and furnish the house on my own. Each hut used for Volunteers will cost Five Hundred Dollars and would sleep four. We are hoping for at least six of these such huts. The gardens and trails would cost approximately one thousand dollars. This is very important because tourism is their main source of income. Butterfly and Iguana habitats can be built for about two thousand five hundred dollars. The more interesting and informative we can make their tours the better the income will be. Thus allowing the families to support themselves. We can buy horses for fewer than two hundred dollars each. They can be rented for tours as well as work on the reservation. I would love to get someone to help design and build a Zip-line/Canopy on the reservation as well.

My goal is to create a model for other communities to follow. This village will grow it’s own food including a Tilapia fish farm. The families need education on crop planting, maintenance and rotating. They would like to buy their own chickens to produce eggs for themselves and of course to eat.

I will need teaching materials and general school supplies for sixty students as well as “home school” materials for grades 7-12. We are looking for volunteers to help in these programs. Our goal is to help educate the adults to be able to support their families. Having the knowledge to own and run an education and tour business is one way to do just that. We want to educate the children to prepare them for University. We want them to have the tools necessary to protect their land, rain forests and values and essentially Peace.

We are looking for volunteers to teach special skills like home and furnishing construction. Art and craftsmen, assistance in design and trail building, teachers and teacher assistants, translators, physical education, health and nutrition instructors, vegetable, fish and livestock farming educators, all denominational spiritual teachers and retreat leaders, botanical gardeners and designers and anyone willing to just come and share their experiences with these wonderful people. Trust me you will gain much more than you give and leave uplifted and filled with love.

We will need:

A satellite for Television and Internet access
Dictionaries
English/Spanish Books
Educational Materials and Games
School Supplies of all kinds
Computer/Printer/Scanner
Tables and Chairs
Graphic Designers
Printed Shirts and Hats for the tour guides and to sell to tourists
Signage
Marketing and promotion materials

The families need:

OH JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING but specifically:
Clothes
Candles,
Matches, lighters
Kitchen supplies
Furnishings (at least chairs!)
Canned foods
Appliances especially refrigeration and freezers.

Please take some time to look at Tropical Adventures' web site for more information and ways you can help on a personal level.

by Robert Lamagno

Hola! I am doing wonderfully. It has been such an amazing  experience. I spent two weeks up in the Watsi indigenous reservation in the Talamanca region. My host family is amazing and the land is beyond perfect and beautiful. Rivers, streams, creaks, WATERFALLS and swimming holes...SOO of course I am loving it, being around my serenity source. My family is sooo sweet and SOOO poor. They live in a wood box basically. I bathed in the river and went to the bathroom in the woods!! (There is a toilet accross the street and up a little hill but without water it can not be used) AND I WANT TO GO BACK if you can believe that!

They eat in shifts to share the plates etc. and most sit on the floor. BUT they are VERY clean. The kids are beautiful and sweet and eager to learn.We all are in love! I had bought all sorts of supplies and art projects in San Jose before getting up to Uatsi. LUCKILY, because I had about 20-25 children from 8-11 and then 10-25 adults depending on their schedules in the evening.

I live with the Chief of the tribe, Don Timiteo. He respects me very much and really appreciates our help. He took me, along with Hunter (the other volunteer), Laura and Scott whom I am working with on the develpement of the organization up DEEP INTO THE JUNGLE! It was right out of National Geographic, complete with boob shot! I thought my host family lived a simple life. But after a car ride to a boat ride to a safari truck ride (long, hot and bumpy, but I loved it...the scenery was amazing) to a hike.

We arrived to the brother of Don Timiteo. They had family gathered in a large tree house with no furniture except benches lining the house. They cook on wood and have no running water. The extended family had NEVER seen a white person!  I found it VERY hard to believe we were the first, but they are very private and live in a very REMOTE and protected area. The only reason we were able to go is that we were with the Chief and he needs to find ways to help them. He is so very pleased to have us around to show that the outside world does care.

The scenery was breathtaking. We want to help them and also help them keep the land JUST as it is! They want to preserve their traditions, but also need ways to make income. I am driven to help PEACEFUL people STAY peaceful. Costa Rica has NO military. So the goal is to empower these people with education to keep their land and country as it is -- while making money to support themselves in a better lifestyle. I am teaching them how to give informative yet fun tours in ENGLISH to the waterfalls and river and to see the medicinal plants, wildlife, flora etc. They have done some in the past but nothing structured and had no way to get tourists to them.

Currently I am staying with Laura. She is amazing and so sweet. She is a local Costa Rican and teaching me about the traditions, history and culture. She lives in Puerto Viejo at the beach. It is just about a half hour from my host family. She has been trying to get me to go out for four nights but I have preferred to be in bed by 10 to be rested for the next day of work and tours. We have visited other volunteer programs and groups wanting our help. I have been giving marketing advice and explaining  the importance of being college accredited to get qualified volunteer help.

I go back to Uatsi on Wednesday as we have meetings Monday and Tuesday. I teach until next Wednesday and then go to Scott's just outside of San Jose to work with him for a few days. THEN we get to have some fun traveling around and doing some zip-linning, white water rafting and RELAXING. I start school in Manuel Antonio on Feb. 12th for one intensive month on Teaching English as a foriegn Language. I will then go back to work with my family and students in Watsi, but need to leave the country as you are only allowed to stay in the country for three months. Scott wants to go to Panama,  so we will see. Most likely I will go to California for a few weeks and then return to Uatsi from there.

SUNDAY EVENING
We had an amazing day today. FINALLY went to the beach! I can't believe I have been here so long and today was the first but it has been non-stop. Today we relaxed and the beach down from the town is SOO beautiful. The jungle grows right up to the beach and hangs off the cliffs.The water is warm, not too warm, and clear. Well enough for now.

Much love to you all

Roberto

These ruins are right in my backyard, but of course it took me a year-and-a-half to get there to see them. However, it was worth the wait! The remains of this old church sit in the Orosi Valley (Cartago Province) facing the Tapanti Mountains.

There were also some amazingly beautiful birds and flowers there to enjoy. The church was originally built in 1693, making it the oldest church in Costa Rica. The grounds once also contained a school and monastery. It is a lovely stop if you're making your way around the breathtaking Orosi Valley.

Wow. I thought that Uatsi was pretty cool, but Kachabri ("Kachabri Arriba" to be exact) was unbelievable. It's also located on the Talamanca indigenous reservation in Costa Rica, but much further into the jungle mountain range.

In order to get there, six of us and our supplies had to take my car to Suretka and pay someone to watch it. We loaded all of our stuff on a boat and crossed the river. Our leader, Timoteo Jackson, had arranged for someone to pick us up with a truck on the other side.

After about a half hour of riding in the back of the truck and picking up  / dropping off people we saw along the way, we finally reached the house of tribe member Elias Sanchez and family. We unloaded our stuff off the truck and joined him for a tour of his house (well, "hut" is more like it) and a bit of lunch.

Before I knew it, we were being joined by lots more indigenous people. I hadn't been told much about our itinerary before we left, so I was leaving myself open to lots of surprises. It turns out that we were there at this house to meet with some people who live deep in the mountains. They walked 3 hours down from their mountain location to meet with us.

Don Timoteo led a prayer and proceeded to hand out much-needed clothes and toys. If I'm not mistaken, there were about 20 members of the Bribri tribe with us. Don Timoteo was visibly upset because he had been expecting more people. Saying that these people are "shy" is an understatement. They were literally scared of us, many having never met "gringos" before in their lives. It is the tradition that we don't speak directly to them, but instead to the elder, who translates everything.

Don Timoteo would translate from Bribri to Spanish, and I would translate from Spanish to the two volunteers we had who only speak English.

We also got to hear about some of the struggles of the people who live in the mountains. Many have no schools less than 3 or 8 hours away. They also have no medical care. Some don't even have access to water without having to walk a very long way, carrying it back to their homes.

Afterwards, we had to get going so as not to lose daylight. The sun goes down and it's pitch dark by 5:30pm at the latest. So we walked for about an hour, carrying our stuff, further up the mountain. It was totally beautiful and a bit mysterious. We were thankful it wasn't raining.

When we reached our destination, we were met by our host and her 3 daughters. This mother of 53 and her young girls live alone in a part of the mountain that is inaccessible when it rains. They are completely self-sufficient. But they work hard and are very fearful of many things.  For one, the sons have all left in search of a better life in the capitol city and have not come back to visit or to help financially. The mother is afraid the daughters will do the same.

It got dark about 15 minutes after we arrived, so we all rushed to find the hole in the woods in case we needed to use the "bathroom." Some of us washed up or rinsed off in the river. Then we all sat down together for a few minutes and got introduced.

Our hosts didn't say a word to us, but the mother did speak for about 3 minutes to Timoteo, who then translated for us. She said she was glad to host us and hoped that we would be able to help the tribe with some of their really important needs.

Our dinner was the same meal we had been having for days: Rice, spaghetti, and plantain. Though both for dinner and breakfast we had a tiny bit of tuna mixed in with the spaghetti, which was surely a special treat for us, and undoubtedly donated by Timoteo, along with the rice.

Sleeping was one of the biggest shocks. We all slept together on the floor, which is nothing but tree bark on a raised platform. Underneath our bodies slept the pigs, piglets, chickens and (emaciated) dogs. They oinked all night. Even with a sleeping pill, I couldn't sleep because of the bugs, pigs and cold temperature (I was still cold even though I was wearing my clothes and a jacket).

Going home after breakfast the next day was a bit more challenging than getting there the day before. First we walked back down the mountain to lower Kachabri to the house of Elias Sanchez. He spent the night preparing proposals for us for an aqueduct system that would bring water to 10 families and for a cultural center where tribe members could gather together for meetings and for classes.

We had no way to get a hold of the guy with the truck (don't ask me why we didn't make arrangements the day before). So we walked to Amubri, which is the largest inner-reserve town (which isn't saying much!). That took a few hours. I was sweating like crazy, but I was fine, amazingly enough.

In Amubri we found a guy with a bus who offered to take us back to the river crossing for $8. We gladly agreed to pay him, and we continued to collect a bus full of people along the way who also needed transportation. The rest of the trip was fine and we made it back to Timoteo's house for another lunch of rice, plantain and, this time, a tiny piece of chicken.

Needless to say, I was never so glad to get home and take a shower. I forgot to mention that Laura  (our Volunteer Coordinator) and I were both sick with some kind of flu / bug. But because we had promised to go, we felt we couldn't back out of it, as they had been so excited and had made all the arrangements for us.

It was an amazing experience and neither my description, nor the photos, can do it justice. We do think many things came out of it, most importantly the beginning of our relationship with the folks who live deep in the reservation. With this new relationship and the help of Timoteo, we'll be able to get in there and help build them a school, bring them much-needed supplies and do our best to make their lives easier without conflict to their traditions.

If you are interested in hearing more about how you can help, please contact me. Your physical presence here as a volunteer or your donations would be greatly appreciated and would make a huge impact on their lives.

As most of you know, I work for a volunteer adventure company, Tropical Adventures, here in Costa Rica. At the moment I'm on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica working with some of our volunteers and organizations. We have two volunteers currently working on the indigenous reservation with a community called Uatsi.

I had the chance to go spend some time with them a couple of days ago. These two volunteers happen to be staying with a host family together. The host father is Timoteo Jackson (photo of me with Timoteo below), the tribal leader of one of the Bribri factions. Meeting him and spending time with him is such an honor. He exudes pure love and joy.

I was only there for a few hours the other day, but he cried when I left. He put his arm around me and sang a Bribri blessing for me. The whole experience was incredible. The Bribri are very proud, but quiet people. Not everyone is welcome on the reservation, so we feel super blessed to have been taken in by them and welcomed.

It's so difficult to put into words what a rich experience it is to spend time with these wonderful people, so I hope you'll take the time to look at some of our photos here.

We all know that change is constant. I guess as we get older we have more experience with this concept. Doesn't that mean that we get used to change and facing it should be easier? No, it seems to be just the opposite. Maybe we get tired of change? Just plain ole' tired of dealing with it day in and day out.

Personally, I feel like I've had to handle a lot of change in my life and normally do okay with it. But some days it doesn't take much to push me beyond my limits. I mean, let's face it. I moved to Costa Rica. That's a big change. Change in language, change in cost of living, change in availability of creature comforts. But more so -- a change in culture. This change in culture I believe was the hardest for me -- and almost 3 years later -- continues to be a challenge.

I was reminded of this last night when I went to make myself a hot dog. Did you know that the hot dogs here in Costa Rica have a temporary plastic casing on them?  Yes. Before eating them, one has to cut and peel the plastic sheath off. I wish someone would have warned me about this before trying to eat my first one. Yuck. The plastic is not meant to be eaten!

Anyhow, getting used to new hot dogs is not a big deal. But lots of little things add up to be big ones sometimes. And yes, I still have days when I wonder what it would be like if I moved home with my parents and ate normal hot dogs.

When I was in the military in the US and had the opportunity to live in many other states, I was shocked to learn how different some of the alcohol laws were in "dry" cities, counties and states. Very naively I thought the laws were the same all over.

People drink a lot in Costa Rica. That's my experience anyhow. I'm not judging that (I participate of course), but am making an observation. And it doesn't surprise me. What does surprise me is that there are times of the year here when Ticos are prevented from drinking. This includes a portion of Easter Week and election time.

Today starts another "dry" weekend here because we're electing new mayors all around the country. From Friday night at Midnight until Noon on Monday, no alcohol will be sold in stores, restaurants or bars -- or anyplace.

It makes me wonder what happened many years ago to start this. I don't doubt the Catholic church had a hand in drying up Holy Week, but what about election time? Did someone lose the election and run around shooting people up?

In either case, if you haven't already stocked up on booze, you'll be out of luck for a few days!

Some of the women in one of our indigenous tribes living in a community called Shiroles took it upon themselves about 7 years ago to generate an income for their families and community. They maintain crops of cacao, process it and turn it into chocolate bars, liquid chocolate, cookies and other delectable delights.

They have a great system down now through production, but they could really use some more help with the post-production process. They don't have much experience in getting their product to the marketplace. With the right help, these women could be marketing their products to local stores, restaurants and hotels and boosting their income by leaps-and-bounds.

Someone with even basic marketing skills could be of great assistance to them in developing a plan and then accompanying them as they visit these potential outlets. This is a very shy group of people and many of the restaurant and hotel owners speak English. Your efforts with this group would help sustain an entire village. Please let me know if you are interested in working with a group like this.

The Costa Rican legislature has initiated an accelerated process with the objective of creating a law preventing gays and lesbians from adopting children in Costa Rica.

Gay adoption is nothing new. Gays and lesbians have been adopting for a long time, but only recently have gay adoptions been done openly. In the past, and perhaps in some areas of the country still today, gay couples have lied in order to adopt. Usually with one partner adopting and the other pretending to be a roommate or a friend.

When I look around at some heterosexual parents, I really have to question how they were "allowed" to care for innocent children. My heart really goes out to those kids who don't have a stable, loving home. And yet I know so many gay and lesbian individuals and couples who would make great parents. Some already do.

I hope Costa Rica doesn't fall into the same trap as the US, where hatred of gay and lesbian people gets in the way of allowing the creation of strong and loving families.

Please consider sending emails to the legislative representatives. Click here for instructions.

These are the instructions that follow from a blog entry I wrote about the Legislature of Costa Rica trying to create a law preventing gay and lesbian people from adopting children.

If you are interested in communicating to the legislative members your request for them to prevent this law from passing, please copy and paste the letter below and either email it or fax it to this list of legislators who are members of the  Commission of Children and Teens:

Dip. Andrea Morales Diaz: 
amorales@asamblea.go.cr;  fax: 243- 2951
Dip. José ManuelEchandi: 
jmechandi@asamblea.go.cr;  fax:  243- 2370
Dip. Oscar López Arias: 
olopez@asamblea.go.cr;  fax: 243-2597
Dip. Guyon Massey Mora: 
gmassey@asamblea.go.cr;  fax: 243-2855
Dip. Orlando Hernández Murillo:
ohernandezm@asamblea.go.cr;  fax: 243-2966
Dip.Mario Nuñez Arias:
mnuneza@asamblea.go.cr;  fax: 243- 2947
Dip.Francisco Antonio Pacheco, 
fpacheco@asamblea.go.cr;  fax: 243- 2725, 243-2137, or 243- 2955
CIPAC: cipacdh@racsa.co.cr;  280-7821

Letter to copy and paste begins below

San Jose 20 de noviembre de 2006

Sr. Sra.
Diputado(a).

Reciban un cordial saludo.

La presente es para manifestarles nuestra oposición a la aprobación del proyecto de ley expediente 16258 “ Reforma a el articulo  107 del Código de Familia, Impedimento para que personas de la misma orientación sexual adopten menores de edad”

Nuestra oposición radica en que el texto es discriminatorio tanto para las personas homosexuales como para los niños y niñas que podrían perder una oportunidad de ser adoptados y recibir el amor y la seguridad que se les puedan brindar.

Las argumentaciones presentadas por el proponente del proyecto distan de toda realidad social y científica.  Definiendo a las personas homosexuales como incapaces de poder ser padres y madres. Se sobrepone a la Declaración Universal de Derechos de los niños y niñas mal interpretando el bienestar superior del niño.  Pues al argumentar que “pro del interés superior del niño/a” se prohibe a personas homosexuales adoptar se presume que la homosexualidad como tal es enfermiza, perniciosa y mal per se. Argumentos lejos de toda realidad social y científica.

Las mismas mujeres y hombres homosexuales que ya son padres y madres han demostrado que tienen los valores morales y la cualidades para ser padres y madres de familia, pues ser padre/madre de familia no es un asunto de orientación sexual sino de responsabilidad y amor.

El proyecto como tal no pretende atender el interés superior del niño/a como se argumenta, muy por el contrario, lo que pretende es limitar los derechos de las personas homosexuales e imponer un antecedente jurídico en nuestra democracia, defensora de los derechos humanos, discriminatorio y contraproducente.

Decimos NO al proyecto 16258.

Firma:__________________________

Organización: _____________________________

País: ___________________________

I finally made it over to the farm of one of my neighbors to check it out. They are gringos who have lived here almost 30 years. And they have been growing coffee for over 20 of those years. Cafe Cristina (named after their kids, Cris and Tina) was one of the first organic coffee farms in Costa Rica. In addition to not using any chemicals, they use natural anti-erosion methods, hand-pick their coffee and sun dry it as well. They are incredibly environmentally conscious -- and nice people too!

As you might imagine, their coffee is wonderful. There is something nice about drinking coffee that has been roasted that very day instead of waiting for it to be shipped to another country and sit on the shelves for months. They are offering a special. Buy 4 bags for $36 and have them shipped anywhere in the world (shipping included). Check out their website!

Last month I renewed my residency here in Costa Rica. I'd been reading all about the experiences of other people. Even the Tico Times ran an article a few weeks ago talking about how messed up the Immigration folks are. They said the average wait time for an appointment was 10 months.

I decided to try a different approach. I'd read on an online forum that this guy hired a lawyer, only waited a couple of weeks and got everything taken care of smoothly -- and for only $60. It did sound too good to be true, I have to admit.

But I was willing to try anything out, as I couldn't imagine going several times, waiting in line all day and just frustrating myself. So I called the lawyer he referred me to and had the same experience he did. The whole thing was super easy. Other than a quick phone call to the lawyer's office, dropping off my documents and waiting about 1 hour the morning of my appointment, it was super easy.

In case you're looking for help with your renewal, I'd suggest calling these folks. The lawyer is Fabian Vilchez, and his mother (who coordinates everything leading up to the day) is Flora. You can reach them at 253-1786.

I found this flower in a neighboring town called "La Flor," which means the flower. They did have some nice flowers there!

We were in La Flor because we're preparing to send some of our volunteers there. It's a super small, quiet community set apart from other towns. The community is very focused on helping one another, recycling, education and agriculture. Here is a photo of their community garden. Pictured are (left to right) Allyson (La Flor resident and activist), Jimmy (neighbor and friend of ours), Isaac, Gustavo (La Flor community leader and program Spanish teacher, and Louise (friend).

A friend of mine called me yesterday to tell me that his beach community here in Costa Rica is experiencing a big increase in crime. This, of course, if not unique to just his area. Crime is increasing at an alarming rate, but most especially in beach areas.

His community responded by holding a meeting. They have set up neighborhood teams. They all decided they would work together to fight the crime. They will do their best to work with the police and prosecutors. Experience has shown that neither the police nor the prosecutors are able to effectively deal with the crime. Most frustrating is that those on the receiving end of the crime usually know who the perpetrator was, yet still nothing happens.

The community further decided that they would take matters into their own hands should the authorities not control the problem. An example from this week is that a well-known criminal who has gone unpunished by the authorities was shot twice and is now in the ICU of the Limon hospital.

I like the fact that the community is pulling together, but I’m not sure how I feel about combating the crime in the area by committing more crime. Yet at the same time, I sure can’t blame them.

We have these wonderful neighbors, Al and Allison. They own a flower exportation business. The other day they gave us these beautiful Birds of Paradise, because they were "rejects." I thought they were pretty amazing!

I heard an interesting statistic this week from a friend who has a contact in OIJ (Costa Rica’s version of the FBI). Supposedly there is an internal document that reports the percentage of gay men in Costa Rica is 46%, of which 25% are men who are married, many of whom have kids. When I’ve mentioned this to people I know here, they don’t seem at all surprised. I guess their experiences support these numbers.

More interesting was that I was told the report “blames” the United States for these high numbers, saying they are a bad influence on the people here. Hello? Are they that stupid to think that people “choose” to be gay, and aren’t born that way? I guess what disturbed me most was won